Proton Successfully Orbited Two Russian Satellites

The Proton Breeze M launch vehicle successfully placed the KazSat-3 and Luch-5V satellites for the Russian Federal Government into geostationary orbit today. The vehicle lifted off at 8:25 a.m. Moscow time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The dual launch was the 8th successful consecutive launch of Proton since September 2013 and the third launch of the Proton vehicle this year.

The Proton vehicle is manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Space Production Center of Moscow, one of the cornerstones of the global space industry. This was the 396th Proton launch overall since its inaugural flight in 1965.